Erbil 0 Al Qadsia 0 (aet, 2-4 on penalties): Al Khaldi the hero as Kuwaitis win shoot-out

Goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaldi was the hero for Al Qadsia as they beat Erbil 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to win the AFC Cup on Saturday.

In front of a sparse crowd at Dubai’s Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, the two finalists could not find a breakthrough in 120 minutes.

Al Qadsia, last season’s runners-up, ultimately prevailed on spot-kicks, ensuring Asian football’s secondary club competition was claimed by a Kuwaiti side for the third successive season.

With both sides having missed one penalty apiece, the turning point in the shoot-out came when Al Khaldi kept out Erbil defender Ali Faez Atiyah’s attempt from 12 yards.

That miss kept Al Qadsia 3-2 ahead and provided attacker Danijel Subotic with the chance to seal glory for the reigning Kuwaiti Premier League champions.

The Croatian made no mistake as he coolly slotted home to spark jubilant scenes among the Al Qadsia players and condemn their Iraqi opponents to a heart-breaking defeat.